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Family Businesses in Sub-Saharan Africa pp 231–254Cite as

Palgrave Macmillan

Manufacturing Strategy, Competitive Strategy, and Performance: Testing Differences Between Family and Nonfamily Firms in Ghana

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Abstract

This chapter examines how manufacturing strategy influences both competitive strategy and performance in family firms (FFs) and nonfamily firms (NFFs). It also examines the differences in the impact of (1) manufacturing strategy on competitive strategy and (2) manufacturing strategy on performance between FFs and NFFs. Using data from 122 FFs and NFFs in Ghana, we find that delivery manufacturing strategy has a stronger influence on cost leadership strategy for FFs than for NFFs. The findings further show that flexibility manufacturing strategy has a stronger influence on differentiation strategy for FFs than for NFFs, while cost manufacturing strategy has a stronger effect on differentiation strategy for NFFs than for FFs. The findings also show that FFs experience greater performance benefits than NFFs when they use delivery manufacturing strategy, while NFFs benefit more from the utilization of flexibility and cost manufacturing strategies than FFs. Implications are discussed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Greensboro, NC, USA

    Moses Acquaah & Kwasi Amoako-Gyampah

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  1. Moses Acquaah
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  2. Kwasi Amoako-Gyampah
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  1. University of North Carolina, Greensboro, Greensboro, North Carolina, USA

    Moses Acquaah

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Acquaah, M., Amoako-Gyampah, K. (2016). Manufacturing Strategy, Competitive Strategy, and Performance: Testing Differences Between Family and Nonfamily Firms in Ghana. In: Acquaah, M. (eds) Family Businesses in Sub-Saharan Africa. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-36143-1_9

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